{"id":29800,"title":"Crispy Fried Honey Garlic Tofu","modified":"2025-02-12T10:56:03+01:00","plain":"The garlic and honey sauce speaks to our most primal instincts. Even if you've never tasted this kind of dish before, there's just something magical that this combination of words evokes in us.  \n\n\n\nIn fact, the non-vegan version of this recipe, the garlic and honey chicken fritters, is my most popular crispy Chinese chicken recipe, even above my famous crispy Chinese sweet and sour chicken recipe.\n\n\n\nChinese crispy chicken is an extremely addictive cooking style and very popular in China, and tofu, with a few modifications, is perfect to replace it\n\n\n\nIndeed, it's a very versatile cooking style because the base (breading) remains the same but you can vary the sauce endlessly. \n\n\n\nMy basic breading for all Asian fritter recipes\n\n\n\nFor example, I'm not saying anything, but there might be a Chinese caramelized chicken recipe coming out in the next few weeks.\n\n\n\nAnyway, let's focus on the garlic and honey tofu recipe, enjoy your meal in advance! :)  \n\n\n\nThe main ingredients for garlic and honey tofu fritters\n\n\n\nLight soy sauce: not to be confused with dark soy sauce which would give it a completely different taste. I say more about this in my full article on the subject. \n\n\n\nSesame oil: Although there's only a teaspoon, the taste is extremely powerful so be careful not to overdose, at the risk of completely eclipsing the taste of the rest of the ingredients in the honey garlic sauce. Learn everything about this delicious condiment here\n\n\n\nTips for crispy garlic and honey tofu\n\n\n\nBe careful not to fry too many pieces of tofu at once to avoid pieces sticking together. I usually fry about 6 to 8 pieces at a time if I'm using my small Asian fryer. \n\n\n\nThe famous Asian fryer\n\n\n\nTo spice up the tofu, don't hesitate to add more chili flakes. You can also add whole chilies to the sauce, the choice is yours! \n\n\n\nIt's best to serve immediately. My special breading is tough but this sauce is devilishly acidic and will soon soften your tofu fritters \n\n\n\nUse a cooking thermometer to ensure your oil is at the right temperature. If the oil is too hot, the outside of the tofu may burn before the inside is cooked.  \n\n\n\nIf the oil is too cold, the tofu will absorb more oil and be heavy and greasy (fat is life but in moderation).\n\n\n\nFritters cooking in hot oil\n\n\n\nIf you want to have leftovers for another day, plan to keep some of the garlic and honey tofu separate from the sauce. This way, you can reheat the tofu and sauce separately, and the dish will retain its flavor and texture.  \n\n\n\nThe ideal is even to freeze the tofu after the first frying and then \u201creheat\u201d it by putting it in the fryer. This way you have garlic and honey tofu in ten minutes flat. \n\n\n\nIf you want a recipe that's more on the sweet and sour side, I recommend the classic sweet and sour tofu fritters\n\n\n\nSweet and Sour Tofu Fritters\n\n\n\nMaybe you prefer wings or tenders? In that case, with a slightly different garlic and honey sauce, I'll redirect you to my recipe for tenders or wings.  \n\n\n\nFreezing tofu: an essential element of the recipe\n\n\n\nFreezing the extra firm tofu block (no need to press out the water before freezing) is essential, as the water inside the tofu expands when freezing and creates these layers in the tofu to give it an even more \u201cmeat-like\u201d texture. It's a technique I love to use in my vegetarian recipes for its added texture and consistency. \n\n\n\n\n\n\tCrispy Fried Honey Garlic Tofu\n\t\t\n\t\tA delicious recipe for crispy tofu fritters coated in a honey garlic sauce\t\n\t\n\t\tAsian fried foodWok\t\n\t\n\t\t300 g extra firm tofu (frozen )Batter1 portion my universal batterSAUCE3 cloves minced garlic1 tablespoon   minced ginger5 tablespoons   of honey2 tablespoons   of brown sugar70 ml light soy sauce0.5 teaspoon   of sesame oil  Thickening2 tablespoons   cornstarch59 ml waterTofu Marinade3 tablespoons light soy sauce1 tablespoon shaoxing wine\t\n\t\n\t\tThaw the tofu in the fridge overnight (do not press it)Now press the tofu to extract almost all the waterGently break it into small pieces, be careful as it will be very crumblyIn a bowl, combine it with the marinade ingredients and mix gentlyIn another bowl, mix the batter for fritters (my universal breadcrumb recipe)Heat oil to 180 degreesDip each piece of tofu individually in the breadcrumbs, then place in the oil. Fry the tofu pieces a first time until \u201clightly golden. Set aside for 5 min and fry a second time until\u201d golden  In a wok over high heat, saut\u00e9 the garlic and ginger for 2 minReduce to medium heat and add the sauce mixture, simmer for 3 minAdd the water and cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until thickenedAdd the tofu fritters and mix gently\t\n\t\n\t\tFor the breadcrumbs to stick, it's important to ensure the oil is hot enough. A tip is to put a small piece of dough in it; if it immediately starts to bubble and float, it's ready \n\t\n\t\n\t\tMain courseChinesegarlic and honey, tofuHuile de s\u00e9same, Ma\u00efzena, Sauce soja light, V\u00e9g\u00e9tarienne, Vin shaoxing","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}